The good news arising from TCC Meeting 2nd July is WDC rates will be struck at 11.9% following 'pencil sharpening' by the WDC and vocal input from the community. The original rise was mooted at 13.75%.
By now you should have received your new rating valuation letters. These new rates underpin the general rates for the upcoming year starting 1 July 2024. The valuations reflect the value of your property effective 1 October 2023. Objections can be lodged up to 24 July 2024. You can find your new valuation at qv.co.nz.
Image Source: Waikato District Council
Secondly the security and wellbeing of our community is always under the spotlight. In a general context we live be a 3-Tiered approach to community care and safety.
One is the standard 'neighbourhood watch' scenario where we keep an eye out for our neighbours and report unusual activity either by social media exposure or a call to the police.
Two, which we are sure many might not know about, is the role Community Patrols NZ play, especially during the hours of darkness. We heard from Candis & Jazz from Tamahere Patrol New Zealand (TPNZ) who provided an explaination of their role in the community as 'unpaid' community security. They need community input and information to maximise their effectiveness. YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SAY AND BE HEARD.
Thirdly, direct contact with the Police, which as you know, their response depends on the seriousness of any given situation. We know they are under resourced so a degree of commonsense always has to be applied to whether a notification is required or simple warning over social media is all that is needed. So in this regard Waikato District Road Policing Manager, Inspector Jeff Penno.
Inspector Penno provided some excellent information with highlights shown below and full notes in the TCC Meeting minutes available from download off the front page.
Focus is on prevention – crime is not random, it requires, an offender, a victim and a location. By removing one of these things the crime will not occur.
Ideally Waikato Police have 727 staff to cover Waikato East, Waikato West and Hamilton City. This constitutes a really large area. A recruitment process is ongoing in the Waikato district. Our district is currently 40 staff short.
Finally did you know there are two very good community groups on FaceBook acting as either general or emergency noticeboards. Matangi, Tamahere, Tauwhare Residents Group and Residents of Matangi & Tamahere.
